We hire a dredger and end up in jail.

This web page comes to you from
just outside the "Transportation Camp" (N05.504872 W54.031378)
at Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana (made infamous by Henry
Charrière aka Papillon).

Our journey here from Suriname has been a little complicated and
rather expensive!.

After we established that the normal ferry across the Maroni river
really was out of action until next month, we started looking
for an alternative.

First we had to establish that French* customs, immigration and
police would be happy for us to arrive in French Guiana by non-standard means.
To do this we asked Suriname immigration if it was OK for some of us to pop
over the river in a dugout canoe without being stamped out of Suriname (our
visas for Suriname were only single entry). "No problem". When we arrived at
the French side, they could not have been more helpful. Again "no problem" They
even made a few phone calls to see if they could find someone able to ship our
vehicles across the river.

After returning to Suriname and with the help of the head of
customs, we eventually contacted a company that had a "barge" nearby that could
(for a large fee) take us across the river. There were however several
problems. Because the "barge" had no loading ramps, we could only load and
unload where the river-bank was at exactly the correct height. Clive and Mick
went to see the barge and although it was fine, the road to it and the means of
loading were really only suitable for Mog. Even if Mel and K-Nine could get on
the barge, there remained the problem of where to unload on the French
side.

The manager of the company that owned the barge then suggested
that we accompany him to inspect a potential landing site on the French side.
During the boat trip, it transpired that there might be a boat at the potential
landing site that was a better alternative to the barge. And there was!

The boat had started life 40 or 50 years ago as a Brazilian car
ferry, but had subsequently been converted into a gravel dredger. However the
loading ramp was still working. With the deck cleared of equipment and gravel,
it would be fine for us. Unfortunately the owner was "up river" and out of
contact. Armed with his phone number we returned to Suriname (by this time
several of us had visited French Guiana twice, still without "leaving"
Suriname" and spent over $100USA on hiring dugout canoes!)

Yesterday evening Mo called the owner of the dredger and in her
best French started negotiations. Next morning with another phone call at
06:00, negotiations were completed ($1,800USA in total, $600USA per vehicle)
and the dredger set off towards the ferry ramp on the Suriname side of the
river where we were parked. Now all we had to do was clear Suriname customs and
immigration before the dredger arrived, and then load all three vans before the
tide turned.

At 06:15 customs was
open, but unable to find the right paperwork. Immigration was still closed. By
07:00 the barge had arrived and the owner was very keen to start loading. Still
no sign of immigration. The customs paperwork for leaving Suriname was simply
ignored and Mog and K-Nine managed to reverse onto the dredger without
difficulty. Mel however grounded when reversing up the ramp, with the rear
chassis member lifting the rear wheels off the ground! At 07:15 immigration
arrived and "the girls" worked on getting us all stamped out of Suriname whilst
"the boys" tried to get Mel onto the dredger.

Eventually the front of Mog was hitched to the rear of Mel with a
very short tow rope. Mog "lifted" Mel onto the dredger. The "girls" returned
with all the passports duly stamped and we were off...

Except that with the delay, the tide had turned and the front of
the dredger was now stuck on the concrete loading ramp. After fifteen minutes
of manoeuvreing the rear of the dredger from side to side, we eventually pulled
free of the loading ramp without damage. Not surprisingly the owner and captain
of the dredger were not keen to risk getting it stuck on the ferry loading ramp
on the French side. So they opted to dock at the company's own
ramp, about 7kms up river. This of course meant we would be bypassing French
customs, immigration and police! Once again Mo used her cell phone and best
French to reassure the police that we were not trying to
smuggle the vehicles into French Guiana.

After about 40 minutes we docked
on French soil (well French gravel anyway). Once again Mel had to be assisted
off the ramp, this time using the owner's pick-up truck. We then drove the 7kms
back into Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to immigration and customs.

Even though we arrived from the "wrong" direction, immigration
just stamped us into French Guiana without comment. Customs were a little
surprised that we had managed to import three large vehicles when the ferry
wasn't running, but then informed us that since French Guiana is part
of France, there were no customs formalities for campervans from the
UK (just like landing at Calais from Dover).

The only complication is vehicle insurance. We can not establish
if insurance is compulsory in French Guiana. Suspecting that it is, we tried to
buy it in town only to be told by one company that they only insured French
registered vehicles and a second company telling us they were closed for the
month!

*French Guiana really is part of France. You
drive on the right. The cars have French number plates. The supermarkets sell
French wine and Champagne. You pay in Euros. The excellent
boulangerie-pâtisserie closes from 12:00 to 15:30. The restaurants are
superb. And of course, everybody speaks French.

Whilst trying to find customs, we noted a large parking area just
outside the "Transportation Camp" (the town's main tourist attraction). We have
had a guided tour of the jail (in French of course) and plan to spend the night
there. We will also sample one of the restaurants in town.

Stephen
Stewart.

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